Ore no taisetsu na hito。
by Swirlycloud
Summary: Kakashi and his sensei, the future Yondaime. Initially set before Team Minato - though I am contemplating getting the whole team together, at least briefly. Please enjoy these lovely teacher-student interactions, because there is just not enough of these two.
1. Training!

—-

The blond-haired shinobi smiled at his young student. "We had a rough day today huh?"

Kakashi nodded. Training today had been extraordinarily difficult, although this was to be expected; he was no genin.

Minato peered down at his student. At nearly ten years of age he was younger than most chuunin, yet refused to socialize with kids his age, who were mostly still in the Academy or recently graduated genin. Minato knew that Kakashi's parents were no longer alive; the kid's father had taken his own life just a year and a half earlier. Minato frowned at the memory. Hatake Sakumo had chosen to save his comrades over the success of a critical mission, and Konohagakure had suffered great losses because of his decision. He quickly fell into disgrace and was shunned by his fellow ninja, including those he had saved. Soon, both his mind and body became weak...and depression consumed him completely. Minato had known Sakumo briefly—Jiraiya-sensei had introduced them sometime back—but he was over his death at this point. Hatake's only son, however, was not. Even though the young child would never show it, Minato could feel his sorrow and sense of betrayal toward his father. He did not like the heavy feeling burdened upon his student, so he took it upon himself to erase all the sadness from his heart. He would become a father figure if he had to. Kakashi had become too precious to him...

The silver-haired boy began to yawn. Halfway through, he quickly straightened up and forced it away.

His sensei laughed at this refusal to show weakness. Closing his eyes, he stretched out his arms and yawned, prompting the boy to force back another yawn. "Maa, I'm tired." He glanced sideways at him. "Go home, Kakashi."

The boy frowned. "No—"

"I mean it," he asserted. "We've been out here all day. Look at yourself." Instead, he squinted toward the setting sun. The glowing rays lit up his peaceful face and reached into the depths of his ocean blue eyes, and his hair looked to be a golden fire.

Kakashi admired the sight, gazing in awe at who appeared to be his guardian angel. He would forever protect this man. He vowed to it. After all, with his father dead, Minato-sensei had become his most important person. He felt a pang in his heart, remembering why his father had died. _No...I can't keep him close to me._ Emotions are useless, and only get in the way. Or he would only end up like his father someday. And that was what he was most afraid of. He kept some distance even when he was a young child—he had begun wearing a mask once he started at the Academy so he wouldn't be easily recognized as the son of the great Hatake Sakumo. He had been very proud of his father, but wanted desperately to step out of his shadow and become distinguished as a great ninja of his own. His reasoning for donning the secretive cloth only became stronger with his father's suicide—he did not want to be associated with Konoha's Shiroi Kiba for as long as he lived. He would take it off only when necessary, and he hated and avoided any situation where had to, especially in front of others. "But, Minato-sensei! I have to train...!" He looked up earnestly at his sensei. He did not get a response. "...Fine, I'll just stay then." He averted his gaze, inconspicuously hurt.

With a sigh, Minato waved an arm before placing them both behind his head as he turned away from the training grounds. "Ok, go ahead," he said carelessly.

Kakashi's half-lidded, dark grey eyes became darker as the sun continued to set while his sensei furthered the distance between them. Not wanting to watch him leave, he immediately turned around and faced four large, curiously aligned trees. He jumped back and pulled out eight shuriken, placing four in each hand. Making a wide "X" motion, he sliced his arms through the air and all but one shuriken pierced their targets. The middle two trees had a perfect square of shuriken, while the other three shuriken, although stuck to the intended outermost trees, refused to line up with the first four.

Sigh. He walked over to collect his weapons, stopping at the eighth shuriken that did not make its mark. He bent down and slowly picked it up, examining its smooth, metallic surface. A dull, faint reflection of the moon against the darkening sky stared back at him. Gai's voice suddenly intruded on his thoughts.

_What are you doing? Don't stop! You must resume your training...else our next match is mine! Come on!_

_Ehh..that Gai. _He was always coming up with insane training routines and would relentlessly challenge his eternal foe, Kakashi, to a ridiculous assortment of matches...he was already thinking of actually keeping score.

Minato watched from the shadows of an old oak tree as the masked ninja grabbed his silver hair in frustration. After a moment he heard him shout, "Again!" He saw him try the same exercise once more, and although not perfectly set, this time all the shuriken hit their respective trees. Following several more, increasingly successful attempts, the small yet effective weapon-distractions were collected for the final time. He then heard the sound of a _poof! _as three kage bunshin appeared in front of the boy. The jounin nodded, understanding what he must have been thinking.

He could not get stronger if he could not beat himself.

Folding his arms wearily, Minato leaned against the aged wood and watched with piqued interest.

"Yooshi. Iku zo!"

—-

* * *

**A/N**: Story title is "My Important Person." Reviews are highly appreciated, and I shall grant you one cyber cookie (oh look a pun) for your act of kindness~


	2. Knowledge

—-

Half an hour had passed since the sun had set, and the chuunin had only managed to get rid of one bunshin.

The other two bunshins had their arms crossed against their chests. "This is your best?"

"Just die already!" he growled back, lunging himself forward.

An hour later, Kakashi was on the ground, panting. He started to pick himself up only to fall back against a tree. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before forcefully standing up. He leaned an arm against the sturdy tree, grateful for its presence. Then, with a quick push, he abandoned his support and resumed to fighting himself. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" He gasped at the effort to divide his chakra further. This time a single bunshin appeared in front of him, glancing around before facing the again-grounded Kakashi. It folded its arms in disapproval much like the others had.

"Mattaku...this person is _me_?" It said, giving a pathetic glare down at the original, who was covered in dirt and looking equally beat-up.

Kakashi glared back up at his copy. "Shut up."

"Well, you are me, anyway." It smirked underneath its mask. "But make no mistake...I will definitely win! Heh!"

_"_Ha! You are _me_, actually." Exasperation dripped from his voice. He narrowed his eyes. Were his bunshins always this cheeky? He didn't have time to think about it. He blocked a kick, and almost landed a punch into his bunshin's gut, but it swung around his body and locked him in a chokehold. _He's...expectedly strong...  
_

"Kusso..."

After several minutes of fighting, both decided to call it a draw. They were bent over with their hands resting on their knees, panting, and still giving each other looks. Then, the copy stood up straight and all adversity left his face. Kakashi copied its movements. With a sinking feeling in his gut, he felt what was coming.

The bunshin adopted a softer, more polite tone. "Oi...why are you fighting me?"

Its creator said nothing, only looked to his side.

"Why aren't you fighting with Minato-sensei?" It paused, voice still low and serious. It looked at him knowingly. "I already know the answer..."

Kakashi frowned in confusion. What could his bunshin know that _he_ didn't? He swore all the bunshins he'd made in the past...hour? Or two? ...All the bunshins he'd made had stayed right here, and had fought with him. Could one have escaped somehow? No...that wasn't possible. He rubbed his eyes tiredly as his bunshin took his arm and wrapped it around its shoulder for support. He was about ready to fall over...

Kakashi had had enough of this. With a sluggish movement of his hands, he released the jutsu and his bunshin disappeared with a poof. Little did he know at that very moment that not one, but two bunshins had left the training grounds at his command. Then, suddenly, he felt the transfer of the _two_ bunshins' weariness hit him fast and hard. As he fell to the ground, drifting into oblivion...some new information also hit him. So...there had been two of them... Before the new knowledge he acquired had fully merged into his brain, he began to question... _Why...was I talking with Minato-sensei__...?_

_—-_


	3. Night

—-

The one known as the "Yellow Flash" casually approached the young ninja laying on his stomach, deep into sleep, on the ground. He looked up at the sky, which had turned completely black, save for the array of tiny bright dots that were scattered mysteriously overhead. The pair usually spent two to three days out here, but lately Kakashi had been showing little interest in doing anything else besides training. He had already spent his five of his seven days off practically living at the training site. Today would be the sixth. _He'll die if he keeps this up._ Minato chuckled softly to himself. _Maa... _

Leaning down, he placed a hand on the boy's arm and slowly started to lift him up, but stopped briefly when felt Kakashi's body suddenly twitch. Ignoring the physical response, Minato pulled him over his shoulders when he heard a tired voice say warily, "Who...?" The weight lightened as he felt the boy lift his head up groggily.

Minato figured Kakashi had not yet gotten used to his presence and the feel of his chakra, at least not on instinct, when barely awake. He stood up straight, ready to head back. "Its me," he responded softly, feeling the eight pounds return upon his shoulder with a gentle thud. "It's ok, Kakashi. Go back to sleep." He did not think Kakashi even heard him say anything past the first sentence.

A warm sensation arose in his chest. This made Minato feel especially trusted. When he was little, he knew that he was considered unreliable-looking and people were always hesitant to trust him. But that changed when he'd met Kushina. She admitted that she'd thought that way about him before as well, but when he'd rescued her nearly ten years ago, with a comforting and cheeky grin, she'd told him how wrong she had been.

He smiled. How lucky he was to have Kushina-chan. He glanced to his right, where Kakashi's head lay nuzzled upon his shoulder. _This child..._

_When I have one of my own, I would love for these two to have a great relationship... _His smile grew even bigger at the thought of them meeting each other. Well, maybe he was getting a little ahead of himself. He and Kushina were not even married yet! "Hmm." A goofy grin made its way to Minato's cheeks. Halfway home, he was still unable to get rid of it. He hoped his student would not wake up to see his expression, or else he'd have a lecture from him on the importance of shinobi not showing their emotions. "Haha!" The image of Kakashi giving him a lecture caused him to let out a hearty laugh. He saw silver hair glint in the moonlight as he looked toward the source of the movement on his shoulder. _Hai, hai, "be quiet". Understood._

* * *

Once they neared Kakashi's apartment, Minato stopped on the roof of the adjacent building and fished for his keys. _Wait...this is not my apartment._ Reaching a hand out behind him, he felt for a key in one of Kakashi's pockets. Nothing. He tried the other, and...nothing. Slightly confused, he began to wonder if Kakashi had lost it back at the training grounds. Or had he forgotten to lock the door and left the key inside? No...neither were likely. Even though he had nothing worth stealing, locking the door to his apartment was a comforting ritual, and a firm reminder that he had something to protect while he was out...even if it were just a key—which is also why there was no way Kakashi would lose it.

_Saa..._

Suddenly an idea crept into his mind. An idea so amusing to only him, that he nearly burst out laughing, potentially waking Kakashi's famously cranky neighbors. He then calmed himself, letting a quiet giggle escape his lips. The memory of when he had first gone one-on-one with Kakashi to personally test his abilities played through his mind. Kakashi had leapt into action, eager to show up his rather unreliable-looking sensei. Of course, he was easily beaten, every single time. Their first fight had ended with Kakashi receiving the effects of the Konoha's Ancient Taijutsu Technique: 1000 Years of Death! Oh, how he had scorned his sensei even further after that. He had even tried to use it on Minato in their subsequent duel, however, it was a very naïve, unsuccessful attempt. Minato suppressed another chuckle as he thought of where his student may have kept his key. Raising his eyebrows mildly, he thought, _This is going to look very inappropriate_. Glancing around him, he leapt off the rooftop and made it up the stairwell and into the open corridor on the fifth floor of the intended building.

Stopping in front of the right door, Minato shook his shoulder a bit, trying to stir the boy. "Oi, Kakashi." A few seconds passed. He frowned. "...Kakashi. Wake up."

No response.

Sighing, he slowly let the boy slide down off his back, in an attempt to make him stand up by himself, thus waking him up. The plan failed miserably. Not unlike a ragdoll, Kakashi did not last one second on his own two feet. As if the ground did not exist, he began to fall forward, and the jounin quickly caught him out of alarm. _Well, his chakra should be very low, with all those kage bunshins he made_, he reasoned. "Taku." How was he going to get Kakashi to take out his key? With another sigh, he looked around him cautiously before deciding to do it himself. He hesitantly reached behind Kakashi's pants and yanked out the key from the inside hidden zippered pocket. Ha. He knew it. Only Minato would know that that was the only place Kakashi felt was a safe compartment for something like a key. Nobody else would be able to come up behind him and take it if they wanted. Still, it was a key hidden only for purposes of protecting, so all was well. Minato inserted the key into the lock and gave the door a push. Dragging Kakashi inside, he flicked on the nearest light switch, locked the door behind him, and proceeded to carry the boy to his room.

Once he'd laid Kakashi on his bed, he realized only just then how light he was. By no means did he look skinny, but Minato could count on one hand how many times he'd actually seen him eat, during the few months of knowing him. As he took off the boy's sandals and covered him up with the thin blanket, he made a mental note to give him a lecture tomorrow on eating right. With a yawn, the jounin sat on the edge of the bed, intending to rest for a few moments before heading back to his own place. He tiredly cupped his chin with a half-closed palm and gazed at his student's face affectionately. _Hopefully he doesn't plan on training...again...tomorrow... _An idea drifted into his mind as sleep began to take over.

_I know..._

_I'll take him to eat...somewhere..._

_—-_

* * *

**A/N**: I love writing awkward scenes as you can see...it would be ridiculous to not include one for these two, although it is mostly one-sided. And _yes_ I had to add that ancient, terrible technique in there—where did you think Kakashi learned it from? :D I bet Jiraiya got a lesson from Sandaime, and passed it down... *tear* Just watch, it will only go further down the line... starting with Naruto's first student! (Assuming he becomes a jounin sensei at some point. Hm, I think I might write about that.)


	4. Love

—-

Minato awoke with a start.

There was a feeling of arms around his chest, coming from behind him. Lying on his side, he vaguely thought of Kushina, but dismissed the thought once he took notice of his surroundings. He was at Kakashi's apartment. Still heavy with sleep, he took the little hand that lay on him and clutched it loosely. A smile began to form on the man's face, but disappeared just as slowly as he fell back asleep.

Several hours had passed when Kakashi suddenly opened his eyes. Out of breath, he blinked several times to clear the blur of the lasting image in his head. He sat up, and looked around, feeling very hot. Turning to his right, he noticed a warm mass of pure sleep beside him. His expression calmed upon seeing his teacher. _He fell asleep, here..._Relief washed over him as the nightmare faded from memory. He got off the bed and began to exit the room, but stopped and looked back at the peaceful, sleeping mass. He stood beside the bed again, pulling the side of the blanket that he'd used for himself, and wrapped it over the jounin. Feeling like he'd accomplished the task of protecting someone, a gentle, genuine smile made its way to his face, its warmness producing a happy, breathtakingly blissful feeling that he had not felt in a very long time.

Suddenly, his face dropped and he immediately retracted the thought as the image of his father lying dead on the floor burned in his mind. He breathed sharply. He mustn't have those thoughts.

Ultimately, feelings are useless...protecting them...is meaningless...

Tears stung his eyes and he scolded himself for crying. He furiously wiped the water away from his face and entered the living room. As usual, he would wake up from those awful dreams around four to five in the morning. Unable to get his mind back to sleep, he would force himself to stay up and proceed to get started on stretches. Once he was warmed up, he would continue to perform indoor exercises until he was so awake his body would utterly reject the idea of sleep. Today was no different. He kept at it until nearly six-thirty that morning.

* * *

When Minato awoke next, sunlight was just creeping through the window, a sign to him that it was still just barely morning. He turned around in the bed to find that Kakashi was not there. He sat up, and glanced around the small room in a hazy panic, and then looked down, noticing a blanket had been pulled over him. _Oh._

Relaxing, he stood up and did a long stretch, and then walked over to the window. He pulled the curtains aside and squinted through the early rays of light entering his eyes. He could see the village becoming brighter and brighter by the second. The sunrise was nothing less than beautiful. Still not fully rid of sleep, he yawned and turned toward the door._ I wonder what he's upto..._

He stepped slowly out the bedroom and hid behind the wall of the tiny hallway that led to the main room. He squinted his eyes and lowered his eyebrows in a comical fashion, pursing his lips prominently. _It's a bit early for this..._His face then turned solemn, remembering just why the scene he was witnessing was occurring, in the first place.

Minato charged right into the main room, trying to look as awake as possible. "Ohayou, Kakashi!" he greeted lightly.

Kakashi's attention shifted away from his exercise of chakra gathering to the blond-haired man. He swiftly lost focus and fell from the ceiling with a thud. He glared up at his sensei through his unsecured hair in annoyance. He picked himself off the floor slowly and sat up, closing his eyes tight and immediately grabbing the side of his head in pain. "_Itte..._"

"Ah...sorry...eheh." Minato apologized, trying extremely hard not to look amused. His renowned poker face failed him for the second time. "Need some ice?" He made his way to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.

"No," he said rudely.

_Hah...what a stupid question. _"So, you are a morning person, after all, I see," he stated, giving Kakashi a once over. He resumed scanning the pitiful contents of the refrigerator. "Training so early?"

Kakashi said nothing, only started to let chakra form under his feet again. However, he did not even make the first step up the wall. Thanks to Minato-sensei, his concentration was blown out the window. He sighed, and sat down cross-legged on the floor. He assumed a position comfortable for meditating, and hoped his sensei would take the hint and go away already. Two minutes passed and his breathing was just coming under control when he felt a heavy presence appear beside him. His eyes shot open and his heart sped up.

It was Minato-sensei. He had knelt down beside him, and was holding out a cool glass of water toward him. "Drink. You're all sweaty."

The boy was indeed flushed. He silently accepted the glass of water and drank it down. He turned his head to the left and saw Minato sitting beside him, leaning back against the couch that sat behind them both. He clutched the glass loosely, looking in the opposite direction, and mumbled a soft thank you. "Arigatou."

Minato reached out his left hand and took the glass back from him, and settled it on the side table a little behind him. He let his other hand fall on the boy's shoulder comfortingly. "Kakashi..." There was a slight movement in response to his tone. "Do you remember...that evening?" He felt him stiffen. He got his answer.

"No, not really..."

He frowned at the pathetically masked falsity. "Kakashi. One of your kage bunshins came looking for me, last night. It was obviously...concerned about you."

Kakashi began to realize, somewhat late, that Minato-sensei had, in fact, not gone home last night. Clearly he had been waiting for him. Kakashi wasn't sure how to feel about that. He felt warm, knowing that his sensei cared...but he also felt cold, when the question arose. "Why...?" He couldn't finish.

"Your kage bunshin is not just a physical clone of you. It essentially _is _you. It contains everything you feel inside. That's why they can seem hard to control at times. In order to use them effectively on missions, you need to have a clear head, and get a firm hold on your own emotions, or else the kage bunshin will become distracted from its original task and may cause more harm than good. Last night, on your final attempt, you did not even notice that you had actually made more than one." He paused, waiting for the sure reaction. He saw the look on his student's face turn to shame. How he wanted to comfort the boy...but he couldn't let this one slip. Not a slip on ninjutsu. "Being too tired is no excuse for poorly executed ninjutsu!" he scolded. Sometimes it was painful to be a teacher...you had to make sure your student learned from his past mistakes, even if it involved hurting him in the process.

"Hai, Minato-sensei," came the lifeless reply. It stung the jounin's heart.

But this kind of mistake—the mass version of the technique was deemed a Forbidden jutsu, after all—was too dangerous to make, especially to himself. But, that is often what Minato feared...that Kakashi did not particularly show much regard for his own life. Minato wanted to do something to change that. If not for his sensei's sake might he want to live, then he would have to find someone, someone who could change his heart—to convince him to want to live, look forward to each new day, and be proud of himself. Sakumo-san was disgraced, yes, and he too had suffered tremendously because of his own painful decision. With no family left, Kakashi must feel so lost, and no real reason to keep going.

Minato continued, a bit softer this time. "The one thing I want you understand the most...is that you are not alone."

Kakashi blinked, and turned to face him.

"I know you've been having nightmares. You haven't been sleeping well at all." Something flickered across the boy's face. "The fact that your kage bunshin came to me for help means that you already know it, deep inside yourself...that what you feel right now..." He had trouble coming up with the right words. "...Is not...happy." He looked earnestly into his student's eyes. "_I want you to be __happy._"

The boy lowered his eyes to the jounin's neck, purposefully avoiding eye contact. An unfamiliar hot sensation crept upon his cheeks. He'd never heard someone say that before. All of this...was too new and too much for him to take in. He fumbled for the right words—a put-together, confident statement—but all he could utter were the trailings and feelings that rushed through his head as he tried to make sense of it all. He was nothing above flustered.

"What does that mean...how does it...I don't know what that feels like..." He felt incredibly foolish and vulnerable, all at once. And in front of his jounin sensei! The realization began to make him feel somewhat nauseous...at himself. He didn't know _how_ to feel, or _what_ to feel.

His sensei looked at him knowingly. "Yes, I think you do..." Dark eyes returned to meet his own. "I think you just miss it, so very deeply." He took in a breath and wistfully stared at the upper portion of the wall, lost in his own memories. He brought his knee close to his face and let his elbow rest upon it. Using that same arm, he brought his hand up to his head, clutching random pieces of his rough, spiky blond hair. "The life of a ninja is a tough one...I already know that; ...but even ninjas deserve to be happy, Kakashi."

Minato's words struck a deep chord in the young ninja. It was not enough to make him change the way he felt about himself...but it made him understand a bit better of how his sensei felt...about him, too. That by itself was enough to unlock the pent-up emotions he had for so long banished into a dark corner of his mind.

Minato, feeling a surge of love for his student, extended his arm around Kakashi's waist and quietly held him for a few moments. Kakashi then returned the hug, gluing his head to Minato's chest, much to his sensei's surprise.

"...Arigatou, sensei." Kakashi closed his eyes, slowly making room inside his pained heart for this new feeling... of having the one person he cared so deeply about return his affection. He felt a hand running through his soft, silver-white hair comfortingly. He welcomed the touch, and let himself become a kid again...the kid he was, and deserved to be.

_I don't care..._

_ ...Father..._

_ This person is important. He is _my_ important person. _

_If I was to be in your position, like at that time...what will I do? I don't know that, not yet. But...until then, my heart is right here, with Minato-sensei._

They sat together for a long while like that, and would spend their final day off sleeping in that same position, only to wake up with stiff and sore necks. Minato would, as he reminded himself before falling asleep again that morning, take the boy out for dinner that night. Just a few streets over, a tiny restaurant had opened up recently, and rumors of its fine cuisine were already spreading like wildfire. _Yes, that place._ The Yellow Flash smiled hopelessly as he shut his eyes, enjoying the company of his precious student...baby brother...son...

...Whatever he was to him...

His upturned lips quickly settled back into place. A thought disturbed him from his easy descent into sleep for a swift few seconds. He made a face.

_ I just hope he likes ramen..._

—-

* * *

**A/N** : The end! :D Hope you enjoyed the story. I am working on another, though at this point I am unsure whether or not it will be a oneshot or a series of drabble. [hint: Obito is very much a main character ^_^ ] Possibly I will do both, since I have several ideas sketched out. Thanks for reading! I encourage and appreciate all feedback. :)

Also! I just put up a story based on the events in Ch 618, so go check that out!

Edit: A short epilogue is to follow!


	5. Epilogue

_New comrades_

* * *

—-

Kakashi took notice of a dark-haired boy hurrying toward them, out of breath and apologizing for his lateness.

"Late! Obito."

He turned back to his sensei for the final time with pleading eyes. "NO!" Kakashi rejected. He looked rather unimpressed at what he saw. "I don't need any teammates," he whispered harshly.

"Calm down! Kakashi," the jounin said strictly.

"But!" he protested, eyeing over his new teammates with disapproval.

Minato hadn't been expecting this much resistance from him. Ignoring him, he whipped himself around to face the other two. "Rin...Obito. I apologize. Your new teammate..." he said, grinning apologetically and plopping a hand onto his cynical student's messy hair, "is this brat!"

Kakashi squinted his eyes up at his sensei in annoyance. _"This brat"..._

The boy called Obito removed the large goggles from his face and laughed aloud, wiping the tears from his coal-colored eyes. "Haha! Sensei! That person looks dumb!"

The eyes of the annoyed ninja in question turned to the one laughing, who abruptly stopped and quickly straightened up upon feeling the intensity of the gaze. "Aa...sorry. Uchiha Obito," he introduced, with a hint of pride in his voice.

"...Hatake Kakashi."

The girl next to him put on a kind smile. Stepping forward, she held out her hand. Her dark brown hair shifted in the wind—a sight openly admired by the Uchiha. "Nohara Rin."

Kakashi was hesitant, and stared nervously at the hand outstretched towards him. He stepped forward as well, releasing himself from under Minato-sensei's familial grasp. Reluctantly, he held out his hand and met hers, and felt his own shake once in a relaxing sort of firmness. Feeling a bit less irritated, he looked into her eyes this time. They were big and round and colored a deep shade of brown. He felt lost in them temporarily, not noticing that he had already broken the handshake. He soon broke the gaze as well, as he turned his eyes back to Obito, who was looking at Rin in a wistful sort of way. Kakashi quietly observed Obito for a long moment, and then looked back up at his sensei, who was also quietly observing the young ninjas. Dismissing his initial thoughts on the somewhat taller genin, Kakashi decided that maybe having this new team wouldn't be so bad.

Obito pointed outwards, clutching his trusty goggles with a confident grin. "One day, I'll become the Hokage!" He heard a loud sigh and subsequently leaned back, folding his arms behind his head.

Laughter and bickering ensued the statement. Their voices ranged from low to high, from ecstatic to sardonic, from tired to lively, yet the aura in the air was one of pure exhilaration. Everyone was at ease, and genuinely enjoying each other's company. The conversation continued, betraying what each really felt about each other.

When Kakashi wasn't looking, Minato studied the look on his face. The young ninja was hiding his immense, unyielding interest in the other two genin behind that mask of his. It was a look that Kakashi would never dare to reveal to anyone. The young sensei smiled. He had finally found some precious people for Kakashi to protect.

_They really are well, no...?_

"Let's go, you guys," Minato said. He led the group away from the spot from where they had gathered, steering them towards a small bridge where he intended to dismiss them. "Tomorrow morning I will have a special kind of test for you three. Meet me here at seven sharp!" He eyed the curious glances from all three of them, and raised a pointed finger. "But don't eat breakfast..." he added mysteriously. "Dismissed!"

The three eagerly watched their sensei disappear with a_ poof! _and gave each other looks before running back toward their own homes.

"I'm gonna ace that test!"

"Don't be so sure of yourself!"

"Haha, we'll do just fine guys!"

Their voices echoed in the distance as they raced down Konohagakure's main street, conversation never dwindling, to prepare themselves for this mysterious 'test' their jounin sensei had planned for them.

—-

* * *

**A/N**: Now, the end! ^_^ Hope you enjoyed the story.

Edit: There is a confirmed sequel ^o^ The length shouldn't be much different from this story. And it's almost finished *raises eyebrows* :D (Never mind. I extended it)

**_The Right Direction_**: It focuses more on Obito and Kakashi in the beginning, but has since expanded to a full-fledged Team Minato fic, taking place about a month and half before the events of Kakashi Gaiden, and is planned to lead all the way up to it. So if you're curious as to what happened before Kakashi Gaiden, go read it! :3

—

Chapter 3 of _The Burden of Knowledge_ (based on the events of ch 618+) is now up!


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